Shannon Brown had been a bit player, rather than a featured one, for most of the Western Conference finals.
That changed Wednesday night, and says as much about how the Lakers' 103-94 win over Denver was truly a team effort as it does about the reserve guard.
Brown's stats -- 14 minutes, six points -- may not sound game changing. But those minutes all came in the second half, and the points all came in the Lakers' decisive 21-3 run bridging the third and fourth quarters, so he clearly had an impact.
"I put him in the ballgame," recalled coach Phil Jackson, "and said, 'You gotta make things happen for us, because we were down five, six, whatever it was, at that point in the game. And both (Derek) Fisher and Drew (Andrew Bynum) had four fouls and had to come out of the ballgame.
"He sparked our team, gave us a real big lift."
Brown clearly took Jackson's words to heart.
"I just tried to come in and bring energy," he said, "contribute on both ends of the court -- especially on the defense end, and not let Chauncey (Billups) run wild and let them get into sets and get open looks. The offense is just going to be the offense if you run it how it's supposed to be run."
Brown's most authoritative contribution was a dunk off a Pau Gasol assist late in the third quarter, inspiring a huge roar from the crowd as the Lakers began wiping away a seven-point Denver lead and the
"It felt good," said Brown, "for them to get loud like that. It gave us a spark."
Kobe Bryant said Brown's contribution "changed a lot for us.
"He came in, gave us a huge spark, and that's what you need. You play the game in spurts. It's about who controls momentum. And that spark that he gave us there late in that third quarter and going into the fourth was huge."
It was another example of why Brown's minutes climbed late in the season, as he learned how to fit in after joining the team in a midseason trade, and why Jackson wasn't hesitant to go to him even when he hadn't played in the first half.
"He's got a great attitude as a player," said Jackson. "He supports his teammates. He looks for his opportunities, tries to make the best out of them."
Jackson had both Brown and Jordan Farmar ready to go to start the fourth quarter, depending on what Denver did with its roster. If Anthony Carter had come in, Farmar would have entered the game. If Billups stayed in, so would Brown.
"They kind of waited us out," said Jackson, "and kept Billups out there on the floor. And we had Shannon out there and they were both connected. Both Jordan and Shannon stood in front of me and said go for it, and they did."
Inside job: In a series when the Lakers have relied heavily on the offense of Bryant, this was a different kind of night. He still led with 22 points, but Lamar Odom had 19 points, Pau Gasol had 14 and Trevor Ariza and Fisher each scored 12.
The Lakers may not have exactly followed Gasol's request to get the ball more -- he still was just 5 of 8 from the field -- but they did seem to get the broader implication of his message, which was that the Lakers had to exploit their front-line size. And so Andrew Bynum (nine points), Gasol and Odom combined for 32 shots and 32 points.
"Obviously," said Gasol, "when we started with the first unit, it's a little harder for me to get the ball in the post because Andrew is in there. And he got a lot of touches, I think, or a few touches in the first quarter." (Bynum was 2 for 4 from the field in the first quarter, 4 for 9 at the half.)
"So that was good," Gasol continued. "I mean, it doesn't have to really be me. I think Andrew can do a good job also of attacking the paint and being aggressive."
Jackson's explanation followed similar lines.
"Andrew's got that center position," he said, "and it's easy for him to get the ball in there, because we were using Pau to create cuts and get opportunities. We didn't go inside to (Gasol) I don't think once in the third quarter, and I kind of berated the team for that, in the fourth-quarter stoppage. And they went back inside at the end of the game. We got some things done."
Said Odom, "They do a good job of overloading, doubling down, getting back to their man. Today we wanted to get the ball to Pau or Kobe and score in position and make playoffs off of them -- cut to the rim and the basket and get easy looks, and we were able to do that tonight."
And so Gasol wasn't about to quibble about his specific number of touches.
"I'm just happy for the win, that's all," he said. "I think I worked really hard to help my team to win. That was my mission tonight.
"Whether I'm happier now with more touches or not, that doesn't matter. I'm going to continue to do what it takes to help my team win. ...
"I want to play in the NBA Finals and get that ring."
Postgame Nuggets: Meanwhile, on the Denver side of the ledger, Coach George Karl, who said he thought the Lakers "got the benefit of the whistle," added in response to a follow-up question, "I'm not going to get fined. I'm not going to get into the game of -- Phil is so much better at it than I am, so much more philosophical about the whistle and how it changed."
But, since he didn't stop there, he may, in fact, put himself in jeopardy for a fine.
"It was a very difficult whistle to play ... No question about that," he said. "Every player in my locker room is frustrated, from guards to big guys. Look at the stat sheet. Gasol goes after at least 20 jump shots, 20 shots to the rim and gets one foul. Our big guys have 16. I don't know. Nene has six fouls. Three or four of them don't exist.
"And it's frustrating where you take one of your best big guys off the court for that many minutes.
"But again, it just seems like, I think Stan Van Gundy says it right: In the postgame, we're lobbying for the league to help us with the refereeing. And this is too good of a series. It's too good of teams competing that we're sitting here just confused by the whistle."
A few other Denver postgame comments:
Carmelo Anthony, who scored 31 points, on his health and the Lakers' defensive play:
"First of all, my ankle is still a little sore. I'm fine. But it felt good tonight.
"The Lakers' ain't going to let me beat them. That's just the way it is. Every time I get it, I'm seeing two, three, four people at a time.
"So I take it as a sign of respect. If they was out there and backing off me and not even worrying about me, then I take it as disrespect."
Kenyon Martin, on the Lakers' 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter:
"That was the difference in the game, I think. We missed a few easy shots. I know I missed a few right around the rim. They came down and got a couple easy baskets, a couple open jumpers, but like I said, you have to tilt your head to them."
Chauncey Billups, on the Lakers' 27-18 edge in the fourth quarter:
"They got aggressive and they hit some shots. We just couldn't really get out of the hump. We got a lot of great opportunities, just couldn't get over the hump. Kind of disappointed. Like you said, even game all the way to the fourth and then they made plays when they had to."